Design studies

Six possible directions for the next version of this site

Each concept keeps the same personal content, but shifts the visual language, structure, and browsing experience.

Editorial Studio Atlas Garden Brutal Nocturne

Concept 01

Len Garvey

Editorial Notebook

A magazine-inspired layout that favors typography and long-form writing. It works well if the blog becomes your main surface.

Long-form Warm palette Slow reading
Portrait of Len

Featured essay

Rebuilding My Website

What changed from version one, and what still needs refinement.

Latest notes

The Death Of Software Engineering

A practical look at hype cycles versus daily engineering work.

Visual log

Glass Photo Journal

Recent captures from Melbourne, grouped by place and season.

Concept 02

len.run()

Creative Studio

A bold portfolio-first system. It is more energetic, built around experiments, prototypes, and technical artifacts.

Project-first High contrast Animated accents

Current build

Lensite vNext

  • Writing workflow: stable
  • Photo pipelines: in progress
  • Design language: testing

Build log

Shipping Better Blog Image Shortcodes

Rethinking the rendering and authoring flow for media-heavy posts.

Case study

Yosemite Ruby Dev Setup

A historical workflow piece reframed as a living setup guide.

Prototype

Reader Focus Mode

Quiet mode with context-aware typography and a distraction budget.

Concept 03

Len Atlas

Field Atlas

A travel-and-writing hybrid with map cues, timelines, and image-led stories. A fit if photography should sit equal to essays.

Image-led Earth tones Timeline layout

Now exploring

Melbourne (Naarm)

Street portraits, bikes, rainy mornings, and neighborhood walks.

Route

Yarra River Dawn Ride

A short ride map with photos, timing, and notes for repeats.

Journal

Building Your Business On The Patio

An archive essay reframed inside a modern personal chronology.

Capture set

Winter Glass Collection

Twelve photos grouped by light quality and weather conditions.

Concept 04

Garden Log

Data Garden

A calmer dashboard-journal blend where writing and project tracking coexist. Good for ongoing experiments and progress snapshots.

Status-first Soft gradients Modular blocks

Weekly signals

Creative health

Now tending

Personal Writing Engine

Short prompts, weekly themes, and publishing cadence all in one place.

Recently pruned

Old Categories Cleanup

Merged stale tags into broader topic clusters for easier browsing.

Next up

Photo Metadata Pipeline

Auto labels for season, location, and camera to speed up curation.

Concept 05

LEN // RAW

Brutal Signal

A loud, poster-like design language with hard edges and oversized type. Useful if you want a memorable personality and minimal chrome.

Punchy Poster type Hard contrast

Broadcast

New essay live now

Notes from rebuilding this site after thirteen years of archives.

Dispatch

Ship. Show. Ask.

A production mindset page with blunt updates and open questions.

Archive hit

Ruby Koans Revisited

A modern reflection on old engineering habits that still matter.

Photo story

Monochrome Streets

One scene, five lenses, and what each framing changed.

Concept 06

Afterlight Journal

Nocturne Letters

A cinematic evening style for reflective writing and curated photo sets. It emphasizes mood, rhythm, and slower storytelling.

Moody Elegant serif Narrative-first

Playing now

Night Tram Notes

A short sequence of images and observations from late city rides.

Letter

Dear Backbone

Archive writing reframed as a personal technology memoir.

Series

Winter Window Light

A photo collection organized by hour rather than location.

Notebook

Silent Mornings

Micro-essays on routines, focus, and training cadence.

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